Improvement in crutches



H. G'. DAVIS. GRUTGH.

310.37337. Patented Jan, 13, 1333.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

HENRY G. DAVIS, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

IMPROVEMENT IN CRUTCHES.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 37,387, dated January 13, 1c63.

To el@ whom/'it may concern.: A Be it known that I, HENRY G. DAVls, M.

D, of New York, in the city and county of New York, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Grutches; and I do hereby declare that the following specification, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, is a full and exact description thereof, which I have prepared for the purpose of. procuring Letters Patent therefor.

My-improvement relates to'the construction and arrangement of the handlerelatively to thev crutch. It is attached to a thimble capable of an adjustment vertically upon the staffcf the crutch, and isso arranged that itstandson the outer side,'out of the line of the crutch, and always coincides with the chord of a circle perpendicular `to and concentric with the airis ot' the crutch.

By `this construction and arrangement of'the handle I obtain the following advantages:v f

First. An adjustable` handle wliichmay 'be regulated to snit the height of the patient, or to bring the arm to the most easy and com=v fortable position. y This position can only be found by trial in each. individual case, and

may require to be altered several times before the proper place for the handle is found.

Second. From the position of the handle the natural downward and inward pressure of the hand is brought to bear more nearly'upon the base of thecrutch, and, consequently,

children quickly perceive the greater ease and p comfort. of my improved crutch over those heretofore known-and invariably prefer it.

Third. Great simplicity and cheapness of construction as compared with the approved forms of crutch heretofore known.

In the draWings,`Fig. l represents my im- -thereof, as indicated by the .red line.

the evil effects alluded to above.

proved crutch in use with a portion of the body of the patient in outline. The red line indicates'the direction of the force ordinarily exerted by the arm upon the handle. Fig. A2 is a cross section showing the handle in plan on a larger scale, and Fig. 3 is a side elevation of thel handle on the same scale as Fig. 2.

Ais the staft` of the crutch, which is a single cylindrical or slightly-tapering rod. B is the head ot' the ordinary form and'construc1 tion. C is a ferruleor thimble to slide 'upon the staff, and provided with a'screw, c, holding it in place. From each side of this ferrule curved arms D extend, as shown in Fig. 3, and upon the ends thereof is fastened a cylindrical handle, E, by screws e, as represented. The construction ot' these parts is so plainly .shown in the drawings aste be evident to those skilled in the art. The proportions shown are those I have found toworkwell in practice, but they may be varied within certain limits without affecting the character of the invention. v'lh'e distance lof the handleE `from the staif A should be such that the line of pressure of the hand shall intersect the axis of the crutch at or near ,the lower end In the ordinary crutch this line intersects the axis of the staif at the. handle, thus causing a considerable side strain against the body with If it intersects at or near the lower end, as represented, there is little. or no such side strain felt at the top, and the crutch is rendered much more comfortable and less liable to interfere with the proper circulation ot' the blood.

Having now fully described my said invention, what I claimas new therein, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

,An adjustable handle, E, constructed and Iarranged to serve in connection with the statt', 'as and so as to realize the advantages herein set forth.

In testimony whereof 1 have .hereunto set iny name in presence of the subscribing witnesses.

HENRY G. DAVIS. Witnesses: G. H. BAixoooK,

CHAs. W. SMITH. 

